| Lilies of the Field | |
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 original film poster |
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| Directed by | Ralph Nelson |
| Produced by | Ralph Nelson |
| Written by | James Poe |
| Starring | Sidney Poitier Lilia Skala |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Ernest Haller, ASC |
| Editing by | John McCafferty |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | 1963 |
| Running time | 94 min. Ralph Nelson ( August 12 1916 &ndash December 21 1987) was an American movie and television director producer writer and actor Ralph Nelson ( August 12 1916 &ndash December 21 1987) was an American movie and television director producer writer and actor James Poe ( October 4, 1921 — January 24, 1980) was an American film and television screen writer. Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE (ˈpwɑːtie born February 20, 1927) is an Oscar - Golden Globe - BAFTA - and Grammy Lilia Skala ( November 28, 1896 — December 18, 1997) was an Austrian-American actress Jerrald King "Jerry" Goldsmith ( February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was an American Film score Composer Ernest Haller, ASC also credited as Ernie B Haller, ( 31 May 1896 - 21 October 1970) was an American Cinematographer This article is about the film studio Previously it was affiliated with a cinema chain bearing its name now owned by Regal Entertainment Group. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. |
| IMDb profile | |
Lilies of the Field is a 1962 book by William Edmund Barrett which was made into a 1963 film and adapted for the musical stage with the title Look to the Lilies. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. William Edmund Barrett ( November 16, 1900 -1986 was an American author Look to the Lilies is a musical with a book by Leonard Spigelgass, lyrics by Sammy Cahn, and music by Jule Styne. It tells the story of a Black-American itinerant worker who encounters a group of East German nuns who are convinced he has been sent to them by God to help them build a new chapel. African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state A Nun is a Woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life
The film, which stars Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann, Isa Crino, Francesca Jarvis, Pamela Branch, Stanley Adams and Dan Frazer, was adapted by James Poe from the novel. Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE (ˈpwɑːtie born February 20, 1927) is an Oscar - Golden Globe - BAFTA - and Grammy Lilia Skala ( November 28, 1896 — December 18, 1997) was an Austrian-American actress Stanley Adams ( April 7, 1915 – April 27, 1977) was an American Actor and Screenwriter. James Poe ( October 4, 1921 — January 24, 1980) was an American film and television screen writer. It was produced and directed by Ralph Nelson. Ralph Nelson ( August 12 1916 &ndash December 21 1987) was an American movie and television director producer writer and actor The title comes from Matthew 6:28 a portion of the Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament. In the Gospel of St Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount is a compilation of Jesus' sayings epitomizing his moral teaching.
Poitier won the Academy Award for Best Actor, a first for a black male actor. Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to recognize The first black person to win an Oscar was Hattie McDaniel in 1939 for her role as Mammy in Gone With the Wind. Hattie McDaniel ( June 10, 1895 – October 26, 1952) was an American Actress and the first black performer to win an This is about the 1936 American Novel. For the film see Gone with the Wind (film Gone with the Wind is a 1936 American The film was also nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Lilia Skala), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a Cinematographer for work in one particular Motion picture. The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS to artists working The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent Film awards in the United States
Plot
Homer Smith is an itinerant handyman/jack-of-all-trades who stops at a farm in the Arizona desert to replenish his water supply. A farm is an area of land including various structures devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food ( Produce, Grains, or Livestock The State of Arizona ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The farm is run by a group of German nuns. A Nun is a Woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life He is persuaded to do a small roofing repair and stays overnight, believing that he will be paid in the morning.
In fact, the nuns have no money and subsist only by living off the land, on what vegetables the arid climate provides, and some milk and eggs. Even after being stalled/stonewalled when asking for payment, and after being persuaded to stay for a meal, and against his better judgement, Smith agrees to stay another day to help them with other small jobs, always with the faint hope that Mother Maria Marthe, the head nun (called "Mother Maria" and played by Lilia Skala in the film) will settle with him. Lilia Skala ( November 28, 1896 — December 18, 1997) was an Austrian-American actress
As Smith's strength and many construction skills, and tools, are revealed to the small order of nuns as he finishes the repairs needed, they come to believe that he has been sent by God to help them in their dream of building a chapel for the nearby townsfolk. A chapel is a holy place or area of Worship for Christians, which may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a College, a
Soon, the weekend is upon them, and Smith offers to give the nuns a ride to Sunday service so they do not have to make the long trip on foot as they usually are required to do. He is invited to attend the Catholic mass, but he declines because he is a Baptist. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. Instead, he takes the opportunity to get proper breakfast fare from the service station/cafe/store adjacent to where the religious service is held. In talking to the proprietor Juan (Stanley Adams), Smith learns about the hardships that the nuns, led by the unyielding Mother Maria, overcame in order to emigrate from Eastern Europe -- over the Berlin Wall -- only to barely scratch out a meager living on the farm that was willed to their order. Stanley Adams ( April 7, 1915 – April 27, 1977) was an American Actor and Screenwriter. The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer was a physical barrier separating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic (GDR ( East Germany) including
Despite the unlikelihood of his ever getting paid for his work and partly out of respect for all the order has overcome, Smith stays longer and finds himself driven to work further on at least clearing the construction site for the chapel. He rationalizes that it would be too hard for the women of the order to move the heavy beams and so he is willing to do at least this much for them.
At one point, after losing a Bible-quoting duel with Mother Maria where he attempted to prove the point that she should settle with him, he confesses that he had always wanted to be an architect, but couldn't afford the schooling, and this impels him to finally agree to undertake the job of building them a chapel. An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction
To earn money to buy some "real food" to supplement the spartan diet the nuns are able to provide him, Smith gets a part-time job with the nearby construction contractor, Mr. Ashton (director Ralph Nelson, uncredited), who is impressed that Smith can handle nearly every manner of heavy equipment he owns. Ralph Nelson ( August 12 1916 &ndash December 21 1987) was an American movie and television director producer writer and actor
To pass the evenings, Smith teaches the nuns some basic English and even joins them in singing. They share their different musical traditions with one another: their Catholic chants and his Baptist hymns. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. At one point, he sings the song "Amen" by Jester Hairston, which was dubbed by Hairston. Jester Hairston ( July 9, 1901 – January 18, 2000) was an American composer songwriter arranger choral conductor and actor
Smith, determined that the building will be constructed to the highest standards, insists that work be done by him and only him. As word spreads about the endeavor, locals begin to show up to give materials and to help in construction, but Smith rebuffs all offers of assistance in the labor. After a long interval of Smith gaining a larger and larger audience for his efforts, the locals, impressed with his determination, but no less dogged than he, will content themselves no longer with just watching but find minuscule ways to lend a hand which cannot be easily turned down - the lifting of a bucket or brick to an elevated Smith, for example. Once the process is in motion, they end up doing as they intended and as Smith tried in vain to resist, assisting in every aspect of the construction in addition to contributing materials. This greatly accelerates the progress, much to the delight of everyone but Smith.
Even Ashton, who had long ignored Mother Maria's pleas, finds an excuse to deliver some more materials, and almost overnight, Smith finds that he's become a building foreman and contractor. Enduring the hassles of coordinating the work of so many, the constant disputes with Mother Maria, and the trial of getting enough materials for the building, Smith brings the chapel, finally, to completion.
The evening before the Sunday when the chapel is to be dedicated arrives. All the work has been done and Smith is exhausted. Unintentionally, as part of a sentence Smith uses to help teach Mother Maria more English, she thanks Smith. Up until that moment, it had been her practice to thank only God for the work, assistance and gifts that Smith had provided to the nuns. It is a touching moment between two strong personalities.
Later, as the nuns sing their nightly hymns, and after taking one last look at the chapel he built, Smith, knowing that his work is done, slips out of the house and drives quietly off into the night.
The book version relates how Homer Smith and what he did became mythologized into something miraculous by the townsfolk, and the stained glass window which the nuns place behind the altar of the chapel is of a saint who bears a striking resemblance to Homer Smith.
A sequel, Christmas Lilies of the Field, was made in 1979 for television. Christmas Lilies of the Field is a 1979 made-for-tv sequel to the classic film Lilies of the Field. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic
The movie was filmed on the eastern edge of the City of Tucson. The church doors were borrowed from the Chapel in Sasabe, Arizona and were carved by local Tucson artist Charles Bolsius. Sasabe is a small unincorporated border community in the Altar Valley of southern Pima County, Arizona, United States.
Trivia
- The trailer for the film advertises the film in an unconventional way. It takes place after the events in the film. Homer has arrived in another town and tells the story of a man named Homer Smith to another man as well as the lessons that Homer learned. The man asks what happened to Homer, to which Homer replies that he does not know and then leaves. A woman who is friends with the man arrives and staring at Homer leaving, exclaims: "Do you know who that was. . . that was Harry Belafonte!"
External links
Harold George Belafonte Jr (born March 1 1927 is an American musician actor and Social activist.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic